Say what you want about Dennis Rodman, but the man knows what a good drag show is worth and isn’t afraid to tip a queen accordingly.
Block Club Chicago reports that the champion basketball star was recently spotted at a local drag show and made sure to show his appreciation for the performers with a $100 tip. The former Bulls player was apparently dining at Roscoe’s Tavern when co-hosts of Roscoe’s Drag Race, Ari Gato and Kara Mel D’Ville, arrived a few hours early to prepare for the night’s show.
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“He wanted to stick around to see the performers,” Gato told Block Club. “For context, we start the show at 11 p.m. He waited at least two hours just to watch the performers and stayed for a little more than half the show.”
Gato and D’Ville opened the show with a recurring bit where Gato pretends it’s her birthday in order to get more tips. Noticing Rodman in the audience, Gato joked that he had promised her $100 as a birthday present only to get called out on her bluff moments later. “I was totally joking and we laughed it off, but seconds later he was at the front of the stage handing me a $100 bill.”
meanwhile i was so overwhelmed with joy i literally started dissociating https://t.co/iqmHrXPaQB pic.twitter.com/tJlfuTGc8k
— christopher belmont (@dragclowning) March 15, 2023
Rodman went on to briefly hop on the mic to thank the community for being so welcoming. “He said something along the lines of, ‘I just want to say I love this community and y’all have to make sure y’all stick together and take care of each other,'” Gato said. “And that was it. We made jokes and references to him all night from the stage.”
Rodman apparently stuck around for most of the show and took photos with a lot the night’s performers. “I was so happy to see him out there and showing his support for the community, especially right now with all the legislation regarding drag in the world right now,” Gato observed, later tweeting out a photo of the tip on Twitter. “It felt so good to have a very vocal ally show up for the community, especially as a Black person.”
It’s by no means a secret that Rodman enjoys a good drag show. The basketball star is known to frequent drag shows in Houston where his ticket sales company is based on a regular basis, with several local queens noting in the replies to Gato’s tweet that “Dennis does LOVE to take care of the dolls.”
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In a 2021 GQ interview, Rodman said he frequented gay clubs and drag shows throughout his NBA career, attributing a lot of his confidence to defy gender norms and be adventurous with his style to those experiences. Rodman even collaborated with the late Chicago nightlife icon Jojo Baby on some of his most iconic colorful haircuts.
Gato thanked Rodman for the tip and for being someone her and others could look to as an example of how they could freely be themselves and still be accepted by those around them. “My parents loved you, and seeing you be authentically you and expressing yourself the way you did back in the day made them look at me and think my eccentricity could still be normal and that I could still be successful in life.”
Photo via Getty/MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin
